Not only is Portland, Oregon getting one of the new “Stanford” style stores in downtown Portland, but the nearby Washington Square store in Beaverton is moving across the way from its current location and doubling square footage, according to ifoAppleStore.
These are my personal Apple stores, so when I need The Source for All Things Apple™ and not just a local reseller, it’s one or the other. Both of them are at present overcrowded hallways, so if I do have business there, I try to take care of it with ruthless efficiency*.
Architect's rendering of Pioneer Place 2 (on the left).
Right now the Pioneer Place store is in the process of being replaced with the aforementioned Stanford style store, in what used to be a Saks Fifth Avenue. I can’t imagine how Saks didn’t survive in a city where the socks/sandals combination is accepted. In any case, there will be an Apple store there now, with access to the street which the current location doesn’t have, being on the underground level of Pioneer Place.
This will improve both random foot traffic and getting large purchases out of the store. Not to mention Portland is incapable of passing up a chance to slap a green roof on something. It’s kind of our jam. Our free-range vegan organic artisan gluten-free small-batch jam.
Washington Square could do with more space as well, I’ve never been in either one when it didn’t feel like Toys R Us the weekend before Christmas. Constantly being full of people makes the store both extra warm and extra loud, which is sort of the opposite of the impression Apple wants people to have of retail stores. Sure there will still be lots of people but with a bit more space from side to side, it’ll be a lot easier to navigate for both customers and staff.
Just down from the proposed location is an available space that used to be a Sony store until very recently. Sony had to close lots of retail locations this year, and two of three Apple locations in my area are moving into significantly larger spaces. Huh.
*(And an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope).